A public hearing on the budget and the district's salary schedule will take place at 4 p.m. at the School Board office.

The budget being proposed by administrators shows $57 million in general fund revenues during the 2011-12 fiscal year. It expects its general fund expenditures to be about $62 million, a difference being made up from its beginning fund balance as well as several proposed cuts.

However, at least two changes to the budget and salary schedule have already been made since the board introduced the document on Aug. 18.

At that meeting, board members voted to reinstate a proposed cut of athletic insurance, which will cost the board $42,000 for the current year.

The other change, to be presented by Finance Director Felix Boughton today, would eliminate out-of-state conference attendance unless they are paid for by a grant from outside the district.

The administration originally proposed allowing employees to attend one such conference, after completely eliminating out-of-state travel last year.

At a recent finance committee meeting, however, Boughton said travel should not have been put back in the budget.

"I'll be the first to admit it was a mistake," he said. "It doesn't make sense to come in here and cut athletics if you're not going to cut out-of-state conferences."

The administration is proposing cutting the athletic allotments to the two high schools, an idea that has been unpopular with several School Board members, and allowing travel raised the eyebrows of some at their last meeting.

The district is proposing giving East St. John High School $45,000 in its athletic budget, down from $90,000 the year before, and West St. John High School $22,000, down from $40,000 the year before. The amount is above what the schools make from gate receipts and concessions.

But some board members, particularly Rodney Nicholas, have said athletics are too important to the students in the district to make the cuts, saying athletic scholarships brought in $12 million for St. John students last year.

However, at the finance committee meeting, board member Russ Wise said more than half of that went to one student and that academic scholarships, including TOPS, sent far more students to college last year.

"We need to put to rest the urban myths going around that athletic scholarships are the way to college for our kids," he said.

The administration is proposing numerous cuts to make ends meet this year. It plans to save about $1.3 million from staff reductions through attrition. The district is also proposing reducing technology for a $250,000 savings and reducing maintenance for a savings of $200,000.

The district is also proposing reducing substitutes for a $550,000 savings. Boughton said each school is being given a budget for substitute teachers based on its enrollment.

"We've given each school a budget based on the number of students," he said. "If they don't stay within that they're going to have to do a lot of moving around to cover classes."

Among the increased costs being faced by the district this year is more than $1.2 million for teachers and school employee retirement. It is also expecting a $900,000 loss of Minimum Foundation Program and Edujobs funding.

Eliminating four unpaid furlough days that employees were required to take last year will cost the district about $975,000, while the district's new universal prekindergarten program will cost nearly $624,000.

The School Board will consider adopting the budget during its meeting at 6 p.m. at the Godchaux Grammar cafeteria, 1600 River Road, Reserve.